Expert Tips

Why it Works: Keep it Clean
There are two ways to make American bacon. The current way is to quickly brine the belly of the pig in a salt/sugar solution. The second way, commonly used years ago, is to rub the belly with salt and spices, a slower but more flavorful process. Unfortunately, the former process leaves a large amount of liquid in the bacon. When this liquid escapes from the bacon as it cooks, it encounters the hot melted fat. The result is a lot of popping and a big mess. The solution? Bake your bacon in the oven instead of frying it on the stovetop. Because the heat is more evenly distributed in the oven, there's less mess.